Morning Word: PNM Wants Quick Rate Increase Vote

Utility says regulators have all the information they need

PNM Calls PRC's Bluff

The Public Service Company of New Mexico signaled that it wants

on its rate increase request that could eventually boost consumer electric rates more than 16 percent. Regulators said they’d be willing to reopen discussions about whether the investor-owned utility has justified their request.

Barela Resigning

He’s been head of the state’s economic development department since 2011, but John Barela is now slated to become the chief executive officer at the Borderplex Alliance, where he’ll

. Martinez tapped Deputy Secretary Barbara Brazil to replace Barela beginning Oct 1. 

Mother Supports Death Penalty

Gov. Susana Martinez will have

when she asks lawmakers to reinstate the death penalty. Pamela Foster, the mother of Ashlynne Mike, who was murdered near Shiprock earlier this year, supports it. Foster all wants the Navajo nation to opt back into the federal death penalty option.

Only in New Mexico

It’s a sad state of affairs when one woman has had

from the same Rail Runner station within three months of each other, but that’s exactly what happened to Mary Phillips in Belen this summer. 

Merchants Protest Parking Rate Hike

Santa Fe shop owners let Mayor Javier Gonzales know they’re not happy about the city’s July parking rate increase and

because it’s “driving customers away.”

State Employee Denies Using Ashley Madison Account

Phaedra Haywood reports: Ronald Sanchez, who was

after a hacker connected his government email address to the controversial dating site Ashley Madison, is challenging his dismissal on grounds of a double standard.

He says he never used the Ashley Madison site, and that he and other information technology staff members were held to a higher standard than other employees when it came to email use, violating his constitutional right to due process.
State Pension Funds Ranked Seventh Worst

Lawmakers are expressing concerns about the future solvency of a state employee pension fund which has

. Other investment analysts are more concerned about the lack of pension funds or retirement savings plans offered to people employed in the private sector. They want to

to help people prepare for their golden years.

Johnson Launches Radio Ads

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is buying air time and

on radio ads in Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin, according to New Mexico Political Report. Maybe the ads will raise his ratings to at least 15 percent and get him on the debate stage with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

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